The CNN Daily Mash-up is a roundup of some of the most interesting, surprising, curious, poignant or significant items to appear on CNN.com in the past 24 hours. We top it with a collection of the day's most striking photographs from around the world.

[W]e condemn any type of extremism. Of course, what took place was ugly. Offending the Holy Prophet is quite ugly. This has very little or nothing to do with freedom and freedom of speech. This is the weakness of and the abuse of freedom, and in many places it is a crime. It shouldn't take place, and I do hope the day will come in which politicians will not seek to offend those whom others hold holy. We also believe that this must also be resolved in a humane atmosphere, in a participatory environment, and we do not like anyone losing their lives or being killed for any reason, anywhere in the world.

Readers weigh in on Ahmadinejad

The Iranian president also talked about his country's tensions with Israel, and about homosexuality, which in 2007 he said did not exist in Iran. As always, his remarks sparked passionate responses from CNN readers, to wit:

Ethan Marsh
Ahmadinejad is obnoxious because he portrays himself as this enlightened, reasonable person who thinks everyone should just be left alone to do whatever they want in their own country. But he is as hypocritical as any other world leader, if not more so. He complains here about a world where Israel can threaten Iran over suspected nuclear ambitions, yet Iran refuses to recognize Israel as a state and has said that he wants the current Israeli political regime to cease to exist. Iran also funds and supports militants on Israel's border who have thousands of rockets aimed at Israeli population centers. The idea that Iran just wants to live in peace and security with its neighbors is a fiction. I'm not saying Israel is not militaristic as well, but at least they don't pretend they're not.

wakeup7509
I am an American, and no big supporter of Ahmadinejad; however, any U.S. and Israeli foreign policy of sanctions and pre-emptive attack based on falsified information is completely wrong. An attack on Iran only stands to endanger Israel and the Iranian people. An attack on Iran could quite easily be the catalyst for WW3 and nuclear destruction should China and Russia become involved. Only the severely brainwashed would believe that containment, and undiplomatic solutions are the best course, continuing down this path of aggression could very well lead to a major world depression once the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, and at worse resulting in death and destruction worldwide, including America.

Horse shows off painting skills

Among the horses being auctioned this week in Dixon, Illinois, was Justin, a 9-year-old stallion from Indiana who has a skill you don't often see in horses: Justin can paint, CNN affiliate WQAD reports.

Buzzy guests at ritzy NYC hotel

Hundreds of bees have checked in to New York's famous Waldorf Astoria hotel - and that's considered a good thing. Find out why:

SEALs celebrate 50th anniversary

CNN iReporter Tony Perri sat up-close as race cars whizzed by and a parachuting team dropped in to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Navy SEALS at the Fleet Week Coronado Speed Festival last weekend in California. His well-done video shows footage of the races, the U.S. Navy Parachute Team "Leap Frogs" and an interview with one of the members of the parachuting team.

"The best part was having the front-row seat within just a few yards as the Navy SEALs landed," he said. "As one of them landed, he walked right over to me and I got to ask him a few questions. That was the biggest thrill."

On the horizon: Obama @ U.N.; court announces orders

President Barack Obama is scheduled as one of the first speakers Tuesday morning at the 67th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. French President Francois Hollande and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai are among those who will address the General Assembly in the afternoon.

The U.S. Supreme Court will announce which cases it will take on during the coming year. Oral arguments would likely be held in early 2013. Among the big issues are various same-sex marriage challenges and the insanity defense.

September 25 anniversaries

A Seattle WaMu branch in September 2008.

1789 - Congress adopts the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, and sends them to the states for ratification. New Jersey is the first state to ratify.1956 - The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable, connecting Newfoundland and Scotland, is activated.1957 - U.S. Army troops escort nine African-American students as they integrate all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as the first female Supreme Court Justice.1992 - NASA launches the Mars Observer. Communication with the robotic probe was lost in August 1993, three days before the craft was to enter Mars orbit.2008 - Savings and loan Washington Mutual collapses, the largest bank failure in U.S. history. Most of its assets are sold to J.P. Morgan Chase.

soundoff(28 Responses)

Philip

@Alex. I hope your opinion accounts for Iranian youth already living the US lifestyle choice in spite of their Quran and in spite of their elders and so want Ajab gone.
Also, that it is a violation of international law and human decency for one nation to invade another without substantial and SOLID proof, not WMDs in the mind of pinheads exclusively.

And get this straight any and all hypocrites: The US people make fun of God and Jesus Christ every single day in carttons and movies and in daily posted comments. By your actions you approve of allah and Mohammed being made fun of.
hEy. Let's make a movie of Mohammed being chased by angry mobs of jews, spat on, beaten, made fun of, cursed, denied, and ulimately being poked in the gut to see if he's dead.
Hmmm. What to call it. "How to get early 72 Virgins"? "Mohammed visits 1948 Israel"? C'mon. Help me out here.

We at the MPC would kindly like to thank the masses [of US cotzens] who already hate Iran/Iran's leader. Our job has never been easier.
And, thanx in advance for your mass cooperation invading and occupying Venezuela next.
Happy warring. Enjoy it while it while. Yer next after Venezuela. ðŸ™‚

Dang it. We promoted Iran as a better place to occupy over Iraq and that didn't work. And now Venezuela has hired our public relations firm to try and sell...who? There's no other nation worth inading!
We're trying to bundle a few borderline EU nations together as a possible alternative, but CITGO is pretty big. We already thought of Mexico, but Columbia beat us to it. (shrug)

IF'n there were such a feller as Propaganda, I'm sure he'd be tickled pink at how many knuckleheads fell for the old "WMD" trick. No doubt there would be a grin on his face after reading some folks comments.

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